Those Who Purchased Sientra (NASDAQ:SIEN) Shares A Year Ago Have A 32% Loss To Show For It

It's easy to match the overall market return by buying an index fund. While individual stocks can be big winners, plenty more fail to generate satisfactory returns. That downside risk was realized by Sientra, Inc. (NASDAQ:SIEN) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 32%. That's well bellow the market return of 8.2%. Longer term shareholders haven't suffered as badly, since the stock is down a comparatively less painful 11% in three years. The share price has dropped 43% in three months.

Sientra isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last twelve months, Sientra increased its revenue by 86%. That's well above most other pre-profit companies. The share price drop of 32% over twelve months would be considered disappointing by many, so you might argue the company is getting little credit for its impressive revenue growth. On the bright side, if this company is moving profits in the right direction, top-line growth like that could be an opportunity. Our brains have evolved to think in linear fashion, so there's value in learning to recognize exponential growth. We are, in some ways, simply the wisest of the monkeys.

You can see how revenue and earnings have changed over time in the image below, (click on the chart to see cashflow).

We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. If you are thinking of buying or selling Sientra stock, you should check out this freereport showing analyst profit forecasts.

A Different Perspective

Over the last year, Sientra shareholders took a loss of 32%. In contrast the market gained about 8.2%. Of course the long term matters more than the short term, and even great stocks will sometimes have a poor year. The three-year loss of 3.8% per year isn't as bad as the last twelve months, suggesting that the company has not been able to convince the market it has solved its problems. We would be wary of buying into a company with unsolved problems, although some investors will buy into struggling stocks if they believe the price is sufficiently attractive. If you want to research this stock further, the data on insider buying is an obvious place to start. You can click here to see who has been buying shares - and the price they paid.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.